Dead Mall

Shannon Mall opened its doors in August 1980, south of downtown Atlanta. Originally named after the developer’s daughter, the anchor stores consisted of Sears, Davison’s, and Rich’s. Another wing was added in 1986, with Mervyn’s department store as the anchor. At the time it opened, Morrison’s Cafeteria was the only sit-down restaurant. A year later the mall was renamed Shannon Southpark Mall.

Shannon Southpark Mall was successful throughout the 1980s. Skylights provided natural lighting inside the mall with a large glass sun window in the food court.

Above, the hanging plants remain in the food court atrium in 2014.

New management took over in the early 1990s and the mall slowly began to decline. Shannon Southpark was built on the premise if you build it, they will come. Unfortunately that wasn’t the result. Developers built the mall in front of a large wooded area bordering a declining neighborhood. They planned to build an office tower…